The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll both on individual lives and more broadly, the health of the global economy. However, the recent and rapid global shift to home working has changed the way businesses and individuals operate and a select number of companies have found themselves well positioned to deliver solutions as the wider society remains closed.
This change to our daily lives has accelerated what was already a growth area for technology providers that offer vital collaboration tools that look set to shape the way we all operate in the years ahead.
Spread Betting and CFD provider, CMC Markets, which already has 17 curated share baskets on offer ranging from gaming to banking to renewable energy, has recognised the interest from traders in this sector and launched two new share baskets to track key behavioural changes, harnessing the popularity of Remote Lifestyle and Collaborative Technology investments.
Research Analyst and Portfolio Manager Joe Kunkle, a respected industry expert, has helped CMC Markets understand what clients will want to trade next. He noted: “Recent events have accelerated the speed of major thematic shifts such as work-from-home, and discussions from management across the software space are validating the surge in demand for these solutions as every company scrambles to ensure business as usual in the new environment. This includes having an online presence, a collaborative work environment, network security, modernized digital infrastructure and more.”
In recent months, the valuations of many fast growth businesses have soared. Zoom Video, included in our King of 34 recovery stocks competition, is up almost 200%* since early February whilst Peloton has risen by more than 150%* from its lows in March. CMC Markets has seen the popularity of these two stocks increase dramatically too, with both now frequently appearing in their top 30 daily list of most traded equity CFDs, compared to having never registered in the top 200 at the start of the year.
Simon Campbell, Group Head of Trading at CMC Markets, commented: “There has been much speculation around how different industries will be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and certainly it will take time to see, however there are some clear obvious innovators. Traders are often the first to identify new opportunities in emerging industries and CMC have seen a large uplift in the volumes for Peloton, Citrix and Zoom Video in recent weeks. As an organisation we pride ourselves on our ability to respond to client demand and as such are excited to be able to allow our clients access to these trending stocks in one trade.”
The Remote Lifestyle basket includes shares in companies such as Amazon, eBay, Dominos Pizza Inc and Peloton Interactive. Constituents in the Collaborative Technology basket range from DocuSign, Slack and Zoom to Microsoft and Apple. Each constituent is given a tiered weighting and in order to efficiently maintain configurations, CMC Markets is working with business information provider IHS Markit, a leading source of independent valuation services for exchange traded products and custom baskets.
*- correct as of market close, June 2nd 2020.
